Due to imbalanced social and economic development, education in poverty-stricken rural areas in China is lagging behind that of urban areas. The current study explores the role of the nonprofit organizations (NPOs) involved in rural compulsory education promotion. Results show that the NPOs are providing a variety of programs to promote rural…

The importance of social capital as a resource for rural development, especially in the context of projects involving joint participation of state and civil society, is widely recognized today. This paper analyzes the obstacles confronted by local players--small farmers and government organizations--in the development of an irrigation area through…

Purpose: The article explores the significance of "evaluation" in the delivery of multifunctional extension advisory programmes and argues the necessity of integrating evaluation into programme planning, to ensure that programme guidelines are adhered to and extension advisory programmes generate their desired impact. The article focuses…

Many rural communities across America face several obstacles in the implementation of information and communication technologies (ICTs) initiatives and struggle with the best approaches for leveraging these elements into an economic development strategy. These obstacles include: lack of quality local ICTs infrastructure, funding, inability to…

A selected annotated bibliography on managing development projects, intended for rural development practitioners, highlights items that outline some pressing issues and concerns confronting those involved in rural development in general and rural project management in particular. A section of annotated entries lists 21 publications on project…

"Where the money is and what you'll need to do to get it," form the central theme of this citizen's guide to rural development. Designed to assist a community leader interested in implementing a development project, the guide concentrates on the sources which most frequently fund rural community development projects, i.e., the grant and…

Rural economic development presents a paradox of growth in population and jobs without corresponding improvement in local economic well-being. Four forces may impede nonmetropolitan development efforts. Growth of multiestablishment corporations makes traditional regional economic development models unrealistic. Rural industrialization is socially,…

Madisonville Community College (MCC) is in Madisonville, Kentucky, a small town with a strong coal industry presence. Mine closings and layoffs in the 1980s prompted the region to reorient itself toward light industry and manufacturing, but the recession of the early 1990s and globalization led to closings of several of the largest employers. In…

This issue of the Courier contains articles loosely connected to each other by the underlying theme of developing people's capacity to improve the quality of their lives. The following articles are included: "Development of Human Resources--A Basic Needs Approach," by Mohiuddin Ahmad; "Rural Poverty," by the United Nations Food…

Connemara, a rural region in Ireland, is characterized by high unemployment, high emigration, poor infrastructure, inadequate public services, and a low rate of transfer to third-level education. To address the situation, the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT), joined forces with Connemara West (a community-owned development organization…

This report outlines the activities of the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD), Iowa State University, for the year ending June 30, 1986. Progress was made in expanding and enhancing the policy research program, which comprises four divisions. The natural resources and conservation program participated with the Soil Conservation…

This journal contains a series of articles dealing with the theme of development in Asia and rural Indonesia. Included in the journal are the following articles: "Nonformal Education in Rural Areas of Developing Countries," by members of the Rural Project Team from the Centre for Continuing Education at Australian National University;…

This manual is intended to assist volunteers and staff of volunteer organizations in the design of projects in various community and social service areas. The first section of the manual is a guidebook that addresses such aspects of the planning, implementation, and evaluation process as situational analysis, needs assessment, task-oriented…

This book documents the experiences that were gathered in project DELSILIFE, Development of a Coordinated Educational Intervention System for Improving the Quality of Life of the Rural Poor through Self-Reliance. The project was carried out by the Regional Center for Educational Innovation and Technology (INNOTECH) for the South-East Asian…

This manual, developed for use by Peace Corps volunteers, attempts to help development counselors to understand the needs of remote-area groups and to provide for those needs through effective self-help projects. The projects covered are those that can solve most effectively, on the village level, the most pressing problems. The manual is written…